York Factory was a factory (trading post) located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-southeast of Churchill. During the 17th through late 19th century, the factory was the central base of operations for the company's control of the fur trade and other business dealings with the First Nations throughout Rupert's Land.Natives brought furs annually to these locations to barter for manufactured goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and blankets. By the late 18th century competition forced HBC to expand into the interior. A string of posts grew up along the great river networks of the west foreshadowing the modern cities that would succeed them: Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton.